Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Super moist pumpkin cake layers frosted with cream cheese frosting and filled with graham cracker crumbs and homemade salted caramel sauce. It’s got all the flavors of a caramel pumpkin cheesecake but in a layer cake.

Once upon a time I made these FABULOUS pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes and have had it on my to do list ever since to make a cake version. I wanted it to have the flavors of a caramel pumpkin cheesecake but in a layer cake form. 

Why you’ll love this pumpkin cake

1. Layers and textures are everything in a layer cake and this cake has moist pumpkin cake layers, silky cream cheese frosting, crushed graham cracker and homemade salted caramel sauce. It’s quite magical. 
2. The pumpkin cake can be used however you’d like. If you prefer it simple with just the cream cheese frosting, that works too! 
3. The cake can be made in different sizes (see below) and can easily be accommodated for dietary restrictions. 

For more fabulous fall recipes, I think you’ll love my apple cider cupcakes and apple pie cupcakes and these cinnamon cupcakes are so underestimated. I also have chocolate caramel pumpkin cupcakes or download my maple pumpkin cupcakes with the form below. 

If you’re a cake lover, make sure to check out my caramel apple cake and my maple spice cake for a real fall treat. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Pumpkin Cake

Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients – whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin really well until the batter is completely smooth.

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients –  whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt into the wet ingredients until they’re completely combined.

Step 3: Distribute among the cake tins – (I did three layers in the photos but there is enough batter to make four layers. I baked three layers and they were way too tall so I ended up trimming them down and don’t want to reshoot just for that lol). 

Step 4: Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool while making the caramel and before making the frosting.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Step 1: Make the caramel sauce by cooking water and sugar on the stovetop until it turns into an amber color. Remove from the heat.

Step 2: Add the butter and whisk until it’s combined. Then add the heavy cream and whisk until it’s smooth (if the edges of the pan have crusty sugar, leave that behind, don’t try to whisk it in). 

Step 3: Pour the caramel into a heat safe bowl and add the salt and vanilla, whisking just until they’re combined. Cover and allow to cool completely to room temperature or chill in the refrigerator. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Step 1: Make the frosting by beating the room temperature butter with the cream cheese just until they’re combined.

Step 2: Add the powdered sugar and beat until it’s well combined. 

Step 3: Drizzle in the heavy cream and vanilla and mix just until they’re well combined and smooth. 

Assemble

Step 1: Place the first layer of cake onto a flat surface and a thin layer of frosting on top of the first layer. Pipe a border of frosting around the edge of the cake.

Step 2: Fill in the border with crushed graham crackers and a generous drizzle of salted caramel sauce. Repeat with the next layers. Refrigerate or freeze the cake between stacking the layers so that it’s more stable.

Step 3: Refrigerate or freeze the cake when it’s fully assembled, until it’s firm before frosting the outside of the cake. Allow the natural border to develop at the top of the cake from scraping the frosting with cake scraper. Spread caramel on top inside the border or allow it to drip off if desired. Top with crushed graham crackers. 

How to Frost/Decorate this Pumpkin Cake

I frosted the outside of the cake with cream cheese frosting because I wasn’t planning on making it fancy. It is very difficult to decorate with cream cheese frosting so unless you’re leaving it simple like mine, you might want to use another type of buttercream for decorating. 

You can just follow the recipe as is and then do a layer of buttercream on top of the cream cheese frosting (once it’s firm) and proceed with decorating. OR you can replace the cream cheese frosting with a more stable buttercream. 

I recommend Swiss Meringue buttercream for decorating but American buttercream also works fine. 

For more on different types of frosting and how to use them, make sure to check out my cookbook Frosted and get my ‘part 2’ downloadable guide below. 

How to store these pumpkin cake 

Make sure to keep the cake covered and refrigerated because of the cream cheese frosting. Serve cold or bring back to room temperature before serving. 

If it’s longer you can freeze them and defrost a few hours before serving.

How to freeze cake

Bakes stay more fresh when they’re frozen. Place cake or cake slices in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag. 

You can also wrap it or each slice individually in plastic wrap (after it’s chilled so you don’t ruin the frosting) and then place those in a freezer bag so you can easily remove one at a time.

Freeze for up to a couple of months. Bring back to room temperature before serving. 

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. 

If you make my gorgeous pumpkin cake, I’d love it if you left a review for me. 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B